Follow Santa’s route around the world with NORAD tracker

Dakota Blankenship readies phones, computers and decorations in a conference room at the North American Aerospace Defense Command Monday, December 21, 2015 in preparation for for NORAD’s 60th anniversary of tracking Santa.

NORAD’s job is to keep the skies over North America safe and they use the same systems to search for Santa.

“It’s one of the largest military community relations events we have”, Gordinier said. He went to the giant glass board where airmen tracked the planes in USA or Canadian airspace and added a drawing of a sleigh with eight reindeer. NORAD’s online tracker plays Christmas tunes while flying reindeer pull a red sleigh over images of the Earth provided by NASA. It gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch, Gordinier said.

The route, which usually Santa do, starts leaving the North Pole crossing the Pacific Ocean, where it begins to deliver presents in island nations, and then he heads west on the northern and southern hemispheres. That means Alaska is Santa’s second-to-last stop, with only Hawaii being farther west.

HOW IT WORKS: Kids call 877-HI-NORAD or email noradtrackssanta(at)outlook.com starting at 4 a.m. MST on Christmas Eve.

First lady Michelle Obama was expected to volunteer, with calls forwarded to her on Christmas Eve.

NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will stream videos over various locations, with phone operators available to answer questions about Santa’s whereabouts.

NORAD s involvement began 60 years ago when a wrong telephone number printed in a newspaper advertisement resulted in children calling for Santa. You can also follow NORAD’s Twitter account and its Facebook page for real time Santa tracker info. Instead of Santa, children reached the commander-in-chief’s hotline at CONAD, the U.S. Continental Air Defense Command.

Air Force Col. Harry Shoup took a call from a child and thought he was being pranked.

“Sometimes they just don’t know they’ve been naughty so I take all that into consideration and, generally I don’t make them lose any points for being a little bit naughty once or twice”, said Santa.

In addition to being nice all year round, there’s an old tradition throughout the United States of leaving a small plate of cookies and milk by the Christmas tree for Santa to have when he’s done leaving the household its gifts.